The desire for satisfaction is inherent in human thought. One individual believes that if only he can maintain or regain strength and health, he will be satisfied; another thinks that if only he can acquire an adequate supply of money and material possessions, his difficulties will disappear. Still others believe that satisfaction is to be found with the securing of better living conditions, lucrative employment, flourishing business, or congenial companionship. But humanity's quest for satisfaction is mainly in the wrong direction because the search is intended primarily to satisfy one or more of the five so-called physical senses, hence the disappointment and failures.
One learns early in the study of Christian Science that God is perfect and that man is His image and likeness; hence he is, always has been, and ever will be the child of God. The Christian Scientist is satisfied that this is a spiritual fact because he is able, through the consecrated application of the teachings of Christian Science, to prove its truths by demonstrations that multiply with an increase of spiritual understanding. Because of his understanding that man is the child of God, Spirit, he is able to experience and help others to enjoy in some degree the blessings and progression that are incidental to man's sonship.
A man once went to a Christian Science practitioner in what seemed to him a forlorn hope of overcoming the drinking habit. He knew nothing of Christian Science, but in his extremity he was willing to listen to the advice of his sister that he try the ministrations of Christian Science, since other methods had been found inadequate. The practitioner discerned after a very few minutes of conversation that the primary difficulty was his fear of being so weak that he could not resist drinking when he was where liquor was being served. After but one treatment, the man returned to his place of business only to find that an orgy of drinking was well under way. His thought had been so freed from fear and weakness that, to the amazement of all those who were present, he calmly but firmly rejected the offer to take a drink.
